Through so many exasperating moments in front of goal — too many for the world’s most expensive footballer — Neymar persevered, determined to rescue Paris Saint-Germain.
Just when it seemed time was running out, the player signed to deliver PSG its most coveted trophy spared the French champions from a humbling Champions League exit against Atalanta.
A night of frustrating squandered scoring chances ended with Neymar setting up the goals that turned Wednesday’s game around, producing a 2-1 victory that sent PSG into the semifinals for the first time in 25 years.
“Nobody will ever get it out of my head that I want to go to the final,” he said. “We’re a formidable squad, a family, with the attitude that it’s impossible to knock us out.”
Atalanta, the Serie A club on a modest budget eclipsed by Qatar-funded PSG, had led from Mario Pašalić’s curling strike in the 27th minute until the 90th. Neymar then found time to set up Marquinhos for the equalizer and was involved in the build-up to Eric Choupo-Moting’s winner in the third minute of stoppage time.
Relief for Neymar. Agony for Atalanta. And all the emotions could be heard around the empty Lisbon stadium, with no fans allowed inside because of the coronavirus restrictions.
“At this moment, it’s quite painful,” Atalanta midfielder Marten de Roon. “Tomorrow, I will be proud of our team and club but at this moment I feel disappointment.”
It had seemed Atlanta’s resilience would prevail and extend a remarkable debut season in European football’s elite competition just as its home city of Bergamo — one of the European cities hardest-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic — continues to grieve the thousands of victims.
“It leaves us with a very bad taste to have conceded that late winner when the match was about to finish,” Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini. “That’s what is really hurting us because until that moment we thought we were controlling the match.”
The game’s complexion completely changed with the attack minded changes made by manager Thomas Tuchel. Introducing Mbappe and Chopu Moting helped add some much needed attacking flair, thereby ensuring a swift turnaround in the final minutes of the game.
First Neymar’s scuffed ball somehow landed in the path of Marquinhos, who turned it into the goal equalising the score at 1-1. After this, Neymar’s darting run penetrated the Atlanta defence, splitting open its back four finding Mbappe who turned it into the path of Chopu Moting who completed the comeback.
“When I came on I thought I can’t lose,” said Choupo-Moting.
He surely did commit to what he said by completing the Parisian team’s incredible turnaround to make the Champions League semi finals.
What this meant, is that PSG reached the last four of Europe’s elite competiton for the first time since 1995 and after spending over a billion euros in transfer fees.
It remains to be seen whether the mega signing of Neymar and Mbappe together totalling over 350 million pounds can help guide PSG to the Champions League title.
